Halfords has joined the ranks of breakdown recovery providers with its new Breakdown Cover service providing roadside assistance for motorists – and for cyclists.

The firm says prices start from 40p a week and there are five different levels of cover. Motorists can choose to have a single vehicle covered, opt for personal cover that provides assistance in any car (even if they’re a passenger), and also arrange short-term EU cover.

There are several different grades of coverage too: roadside and local, nationwide, and home assist. Prices, naturally, rise accordingly.

Shocking image reveals why you should slow down past breakdowns

Cycle recovery will be a boon to city commuters – cycle recovery is included, so cyclists and their broken bicycles will be recovered to their home or workplace, railway station, car hire firm or hotel.

Halfords is using a nationwide network of over 400 independent recovery operators to run the breakdown cover service. Its target is reaching customers within 40 minutes – and it aims, where possible, to repair the vehicle at the roadside within 60 minutes.

If repairs are not possible, customers can choose to have their car taken to a garage of their choice or a Halfords Autocentre. It is not mandatory to use a Halfords garage… but policyholders will be offered discounts on repairs carried out at Halfords branches.

Cyclists can choose to have their bicycle taken to the nearest Halfords shop or independent bike shop.

Revealed: the UK’s most reliable cars 2018

Other incentives for policy holders include half price MOTs, 10 percent off servicing and a £10 gift voucher.

“We service and repair thousands of cars and bikes every week,” said a Halfords spokesperson. “Now, our customers will be able to access our range of services while out on their journeys.

“With the launch of our new Breakdown Cover, our policy holders will benefit from the expertise of over 700 Halfords shops and Autocentres.”

The Toyota Corolla is the world’s best-selling nameplate and it makes an overdue return to the UK from 2019 when the replacement for the Toyota Auris goes on sale.

Toyota introduced the Auris name for Europe in 2006, to try and give the car an image lift over the dowdy Corolla it replaced. But Corolla remained the chosen name for Toyota’s family car range in other countries and Auris has increasingly been seen as an anomaly.

Toyota hits back at Ford: Corolla is the world’s best-selling car

Reviving the Corolla name for Europe will once again bring the region in line with the rest of the world.

It does, however, seem a decision that has only recently been agreed upon: earlier this year, Toyota revealed its new family hatchback range at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show – clearly branded as the Auris… 

The newly-renamed Corolla will debut in new Touring Sports estate guise at the 2018 Paris Motor Show next month, alongside the hatchback that was revealed in Geneva. Both will be built in Burnaston, Derbyshire.

‘No better moment’

Toyota says the move coincides with the car moving to the firm’s Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) platform – which replaces three different vehicle architectures currently used.

“The TNGA engineering and design philosophy brings a whole new dimension to our next generation C-segment models,” said Toyota Motor Europe president and CEO Dr Johan van Zyl.

The new Toyota Auris will be built in Britain

“Adding to Corolla’s renowned quality, desirability and reliability, it delivers the more emotional values that our customers aspire to, such as a distinctive design, interior refinement, rewarding driving dynamics and powerful yet efficient hybrid electric powertrains.

“There is no better moment than the launch of the upcoming new generation model to reintroduce the Corolla name to our C-segment hatchback and wagon.”

Toyota has globally sold more than 43 million Corollas since its launch in 1966. By renaming Auris as Corolla, it means European sales can once again be included in that total – further bolstering the car’s status as the world’s best-selling nameplate ever. 

Fresh from the 600hp M5 taking a leading role in the recent Mission: Impossible – Fallout movie, BMW is back in another espionage adventure.

Set to be released on Friday 31st August via Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan sees the CIA analyst pursuing terrorists across Europe and the Middle East.

Created by the late Tom Clancy in 1987, the Jack Ryan character has starred in more than 20 novels and five feature films. This is the first time that Ryan, now played by John Krasinski, has featured in a television series.

Following all the tyre-shredding action in Mission: Impossible, the CIA has seemingly had to reign in the spending. There is no M5 for Jack Ryan here, instead he has to make do with a slightly more humble 540i xDrive.

This means a total of only 326hp, but the 540i is still capable of 0-62mph in 4.8 seconds. Plus, the inline-six turbocharged engine in the 540i is likely to be more economical. That should save Jack Ryan precious time when submitting his expenses claims each month.

The 5 Series is not the only BMW to feature in the first season of the show, with X5 and X6 models also slated to make an appearance. The classic BMW 2002 is also said to take a special role, too.

BMW has seemingly secured a sizeable fleet contract to supply fictional CIA agents with cars.

Aside from Mission: Impossible and Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, BMW has seen other recent onscreen action in the Red Sparrow. The latter saw Jennifer Lawrence’s character make use of a luxurious 7 Series, whilst undergoing her transformation into a secret CIA assassin.

Amazon Prime subscribers will only have a short wait to find out if the 5 Series can yet again help save the world from terrorists.

Ford’s GT supercar is hardly in need of any more drama, but the Blue Oval has done just that with a new special edition model.

The signature blue and orange Gulf Oil paintwork has covered many cars, but was famously used on two of Ford’s Le Mans winning GT40 race cars.

Inside the top secret Ford GT design studio

Ford’s streak of four wins at the French classic during the late 1960s was a dominant affair. However, it was the 1968 and 1969 events which saw GT40s take glory in the famous Gulf Oil livery.

Just like the winner from 1968, the 2019 model year GT Heritage Edition will wear number 9 racing graphics, along with the Gulf-inspired livery. For 2020, number 6 will be worn by the GT Heritage Edition.

Marking the 50th anniversary of Le Mans success, this special version can also be specified with an additional package for exposed carbon on the interior and exterior.

The lightweight material can be seen in all its glory on the A-pillars, along with forming the outline of the racing numbers. Naked carbon can also be seen on the door sill trims, steering wheel, and across the dashboard.

Special 20-inch alloy wheels with a forged one-piece construction are also part of the deal, along with orange brake calipers and silver rear view mirrors.

Blue and orange stitching is used to bring contrast to the black Alcantara used for the bucket seats and steering wheel. The seats also feature an embossed design, intended to replicate the ventilation holes in the original GT40.

Although the Gulf Racing livery may be most associated with Ford, earlier this year McLaren Automotive produced a special one-off version of the 675LT supercar. Commissioned by a customer, the bespoke blue and orange McLaren made reference to the 1997 F1 GTR which took class victory at Le Mans.

Ford has also made Heritage Editions of the twin-turbocharged GT supercar before. Last year, the ‘67 Heritage Edition was built to celebrate Ford’s win at the 1967 Le Mans event. No prizes for guessing what success the ‘66 Heritage Edition paid tribute to.

The open-top Ferrari 488 Pista Spider has been revealed at the 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. It is, fact fans, the 50^th factory-built drop-top Ferrari in history.

Drawing from the 488 Pista coupe supercar, the 488 Pista Spider shares the same 720hp twin-turbo V8 engine, which Ferrari says sounds “even more riveting thanks to the open-top configuration”.

New car debuts at Monterey Car Week 2018

It rushes from 0-62mph in the same scant 2.85 seconds as the coupe, and 0-124mph takes just a smidgen longer, at 8.0 seconds. Top speed is the same too, at 211mph.

The Pista Spider does weigh 100kg more than the coupe, at 1,380kg, but that’s still roughly a 50kg weight saving over the regular 488 GTB.

It has all the exotic engine tech of the coupe: titanium conrods, lighter crankshaft, carbon fibre intake plenum and Inconel exhaust manifold.

The chassis is the same as the coupe too; as that drew from the 488 Challenge and 488 GTE racers, Ferrari claims the 488 Pista Spider “offers the highest level yet of technological transfer from the track to a road-legal drop-top car”.

Key to it is the lateral dynamics control system called Ferrari Dynamic Enhancer (FDE). How this works is a little mysterious, but Ferrari describes it as managing the brake pressure at the calipers more accurately, so it’s easier to control the 488 Pista Spider when drifting sideways. Which sounds good to us.

The tyres being smoked are the same bespoke Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber.

They’re worn by new diamond-finish 20-inch alloys. They’re different to the coupe and Ferrari says they are a “novel 10-spoke star-effect interpretation of Ferrari’s traditional mid-rear engine Berlinetta-style rims”.

Driving purists can pick optional one-piece carbon fibre rims, which are 20 percent lighter than the standard wheels – an impressive weight saving, given how the regular wheels themselves are lightweight forged items.

As for the styling, the bespoke aero kit of the 488 Pista is largely present and correct; Ferrari’s focus here is on the “charismatic central livery” which runs from nose to tail. It expands towards the rear, finishing beneath the 488 Pista’s ample spoiler.

“This continual expansion of the stripe recalls the movement of the airflow and exalts the lines of the car,” we’re told. It is also different to the coupe, where the line runs right to the tip of the spoiler itself… and is all the more dramatic on the Pista Spider because there’s not an exposed engine bay breaking it up.

Which, we’re sure, will be all the justification 488 Spider coupe owners need to also make sure they’re also in the line for a 488 Pista Spider…

Elon Musk has dropped plans to take Tesla private after investors told him: “please don’t do this.”

In a statement on Tesla’s Twitter account, labelled ‘Staying Public’, Musk said the feedback he’d received since announcing he was considering taking Tesla private had convinced him to drop the plans. 

“It’s apparent that most of Tesla’s existing shareholders believe we are better off as a public company. 

“Although the majority of shareholders I spoke to said they would remain with Tesla if we went private, the sentiment, in a nutshell, was “please don’t do this”.”

Staying Public https://t.co/gUrAnInBOu

— Tesla (@Tesla) August 25, 2018

Musk said he met with the Tesla board of directors on Thursday 23 August and “let them know that I believe the better path is for Tesla to remain public.

“The board indicated that they agree.”

Musk caused a shock earlier in August when he tweeted he was considering taking Tesla private. He quoted $420 per share, which would have valued Tesla at £72 billion (£57 billion). 

This has led to an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and, it is reported, lawsuits against Musk by several investors. The share price also dropped; it is currently $322 per share.

Musk’s reasoning for taking Tesla private was to escape the intense scrutiny and pressure for regular public reporting listed companies have to comply with: he argued this caused short-termism, rather than “long-term value creation”. 

However, going private was itself not without complications, and Musk added “this is a problem because we absolutely must stay focused on ramping Model 3 and becoming profitable. We will not achieve our mission of advancing sustainable energy unless we are also financially sustainable.”

Musk did add that he believed it would not be impossible to privatise the firm. “My belief that there is more than enough funding to take Tesla private was reinforced during this process.”

However, drawing a line under the episode, he added: “I’m incredibly excited to continue leading Tesla as a public company.

“It is a privilege.”

Busy this bank holiday weekend? A lot of Brits are, and so they should be. Aside from the agreeable climate, there are no less than four major music festivals happening. Reading and Leeds are the headline stops, obviously, with Creamfields and South West Four also serving music fans across the country.

However, research commissioned by MoneySupermarket suggests that many of us are due to overload our cars ready for our festival-or-otherwise travels this weekend.

The shocking finding is that 32 percent of 18-34 year-old festival fans have knowingly overloaded their cars ready for their travels. Two in five Brits are also unaware that an overloaded car can mean invalidated insurance in the event of an accident.

Two thirds of us admit to overloading our cars for special occasions like travelling abroad, moving house and visiting far-away folks. One statistic that actually seemed low to us, was that one in eight people admit to overloading to avoid return trips. The items we’re most likely to overload with include flat-pack furniture, suitcases and bulky items such as mattresses.

✅ Tickets Sold Out
✅ Tents Up
✅ Bars Stocked
✅ Artists Ready & Waiting

SEE YOU TOMORROW! ?#15YearsOfSW4 pic.twitter.com/W1vzK5v5nE

— SW4 Festival (@southwest4) August 24, 2018

“Going away for the weekend often means a car full of people and all the kit that goes with it,” said Kevin Pratt, consumer affairs expert at MoneySupermarket.

“It’s easy to see how cars can be overloaded, which raises a number of safety and insurance issues… First of all, there’s a motoring offence (CU50) of ‘causing or likely to cause danger by reason of load or passengers’.

“If you’re in an accident and you’re convicted of this offence, you might not be able to claim for damages and injury, although your policy would still cover any liabilities you might have to third parties. Insurers will also resist paying claims where there has been ‘intentional or reckless damage’, which might result from overloading.”

As for advice regarding carrying big loads, we’re urged to keep mirrors and windows as clear as possible for best visibility, keep tyres at their right pressures and to make sure items are in securely.

No, that doesn’t mean have a mate lay across the tents and fold-out chairs in the boot…

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Porsche built its last classic air-cooled 911 back in 1998. Now, 20 years on, it’s made just one more – and it’s going to auction the ‘Project Gold’ 911 Turbo for charity as part of its 70^th anniversary celebrations.

18 months in the making, Project Gold is a 993-generation 911 that’s been fully rebuilt using Porsche Classic parts. The retro Porsche division lists 6,500 parts for the 993 series alone, from a catalogue of 52,000 old Porsche parts, so finding new bits off the shelf was not a problem.

Many jobs have been done to the same standard as brand new Porsches. Project Gold’s bodyshell went through the latest corrosion protection and paint line as modern 911s, for example. The bespoke Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur division then detailed both the exterior and interior.

But Porsche Classic did all the assembly work at its Stuttgart workshop, including the installation of a brand new air-cooled 3.6-litre twin-turbo engine, producing 450hp. It sounds a lot: it’s actually the same figure the Turbo S developed back in 1998, underlining what an extraordinary car it was back then.

The engine, gearbox and even the all-wheel drive system all came from the Porsche Classic genuine parts brochure.

It’s been painted gold to match the 2019 911 Turbo S Exclusive series, giving Porsche the excuse to run a photoshoot of old and new cars. Don’t expect to see Project Gold on the road though – it’s not road-legal so will be restricted to circuits.

It can’t be used on the road because it can’t be registered: it’s a custom-build, with a hand-stamped chassis number rather than an official one. Although Porsche has, smartly, given it a number that follows on from the final series 993 Turbo from back in 1998.

“This project clearly demonstrates our strategic approach,” said sales and marketing board member Detlev von Platen.

“Although we are starting a new chapter in our sports car history with the Porsche Taycan, the story of how the company evolved is no less significant.

“On the contrary, this Golden Yellow 993 demonstrates how incredibly passionate we are about the tradition of the brand.”

The Project Gold 993 Porsche 911 Turbo will make its world debut at the Porsche Rennsport Reunion in Laguna Seca on September 27.

A month later, it will be auctioned by RM Sothebys at the Porsche Experience Centre in Atlanta. All proceeds will go to the Ferry Porsche Foundation as part of the 70 years of Porsche sports cars celebrations.

Project Gold Porsche 911 Turbo: in pictures

More than half of those who own a Land Rover also own a dog. Spotting an opportunity, Land Rover has released a set of custom-designed Pet Packs to make its vehicles more dog-friendly.

Some people aren’t getting it: dogs die in hot cars

The new accessories have been revealed to coincide with this Sunday’s International Dog Appreciation Day.

There’s a Pet Pack kit for every Land Rover model, and prices start from just over £360. Each comprises a selection of accessories that do what their name suggests.

The three Land Rover Pet Packs are:

• Pet Load Space Protection Pack (£482) – quilted load space liner, full luggage partition, spill-resistant water bowl
• Pet Transportation Pack (£360.37) – foldable pet carrier, load space rubber mat, spill-resistant water bowl
• Pet Care and Access Pack (£887.56) – pet access ramp, portable rinse system, full luggage partition, quilted load space liner

Owners can also purchase accessories individually.

“Land Rover is all about enjoying the great outdoors and that goes hand-in-hand with dog ownership for many customers,” said product marketing director Finbar McFall.

“Our customers told us that the comfort of their dogs on car journeys is crucial. They are part of the family and we recognise that.

“Our new Pet Packs will allow dogs to travel in real comfort and make journeys simpler and more relaxing for animals and at the same time protect the inside of owners’ vehicles.”

What’s good for dogs is also good for retained values. 

Dogs trust Land Rover

The handiest feature for dogs may be the foldable pet ramp – particularly if they’re smaller or older. It’s built from aluminium side panels and a plastic centre section: for the safety of dogs, it’s covered with a high-grip tread pattern, and rubber feet stop it from slipping.

For dogs who have been dogs, the portable rinse system will deliver five minutes of shower power, and it has five spray settings – it’s also good for rinsing off muddy bikes or wetsuits, says Land Rover.

The quilted load liner protects the floor, seat backs and even the side wall carpets from dog detritus; it’s soft, so dogs will be comfy, is wipe-clean, and has a detachable bumper protector to stop scratches from paws and claws.

And the foldable pet carrier? It’s built from a lightweight metal frame and there’s a nice soft quilted fabric cushion for dogs to sit on, and net windows so they can see out.

The spill-proof water bowl is rather smart, too: it holds 350ml and Land Rover reckons the clever design and non-slip rubber base stop water splashing out “on everything but the roughest terrain”.

Land Rover Pet Packs: in pictures

(click to see more)